Vergil Irngard
Description Vergil is a 6 foot tall, athletic built male weighing in at a little over 210 LBS. Vergil is often recognized via his attire, Consisting of various pieces of leather armor strapped under a long black cloak and hood, His left shoulder pad is one of the only significant piece of metallic material on his armor, engraved on this shoulder pad is the Irngard family crest consisting of an upright Lion backed by a shield and surrounded by a reef with the words "sanguinem officium virtutis" (Blood, Duty, Bravery) engraved in a banner underneath it. The other significant piece of metal is a chain and large pendant he wears around his neck, both made of solid silver, the pendant is a coiled serpent with blood red ruby's marking it's eyes, something valuable to him beyond measure as it once belonged to his father, this pendant earned him one of his nicknames "The Silver Serpent" due to his speed on the battlefield, the pendant was the only thing to stand out in appearance while in combat. Vergil rarely lowers his hood in public but if you're lucky and he does you would note his other most recognizable features, His piercing silver eyes and his Platinum blonde hair with a distinct silver shine, framing an almost flawless set of facial features, save for a scar that runs down the left side of his face, ending just above his jawline. Personality While his personality has differed over the years, the things he went through forged who he is today, while may traits were lost many were also gained with his "turning" as he tends to call it. A once playful and eager child turned into an quiet, cold and calculating individual with one goal in mind and one goal only, to kill those that killed his king. Vergil was a child prodigy in the ways of combat and in that he is highly intelligent, He isn't one for words and often prefers actions over dialogue, while he's slow to a conversation his mind is ever sharp and insanely quick, matching his movement speed on the battlefield. Vergil uses his intelligence in the ways he feels suit him best, Combat. Vergil's intelligence and knowledge spans far beyond the realities of combat but there are two things he knows best, War and the hunt for his prey, Vergil's cold and calm demeanor making him a very efficient hunter, earning him one of his many nicknames among his circle "The Kindred Killer" wip Pre-Game History In the year 1523, a son was born to Gespar Irngard of Hertford, England. With his mother's fair hair and his father's silvery-grey eyes, the babe was brought to his father not long after his birth. It was the infant's grab at Gespar's pendant- a coiled serpent of silver with ruby eyes- that made the knight laugh. "Vergil, you will achieve great things," he boomed, swinging the infant high. It was a statement, very nearly a promise, and throughout the early years of Vergil's life, his father took steps to ensure that the promise would be fulfilled. The duties of a knight sworn to service of the crown were instilled in the boy with his tutelage in languages and chivalry. When he was of age to hold a wooden sword, Gespar put the training weapon into the four year old's hands and showed him the proper way to hold it. Natural inclination to the blade gave him grace with the weapon, and as he aged, Gespar returned as often as his duties to King Henry VIII would allow. Hertford Castle was Vergil's home and his domain, and at the age of ten, the boy began seeking his own path. "I've taught you the skills, but the experience is something you must gain on your own," Gespar told his son, and Vergil took the words to heart. While he understood the techniques of a heavily armored knight, there was a need for speed and maneuverability that Vergil found lacking in the traditional combat. Gespar's words to the master of arms left Vergil free to develop his own method of fighting, and the boy continued with his unorthodox methods, honing the techniques with his father's knights. On his fourteenth natal day in 1537, Vergil's father was summoned to the King's service and took his son along. Venturing to London was enough to widen any boy's eyes, but the pagentry and luxuriousness of Hampton Court Palace was wholly astonishing. It was there that Vergil was introduced to the King's only son, Edward. With all of the stoic pride of his lofty age, Vergil turned his silver eyes to the boy and felt pride in the manner in which both King Henry VIII and Edward regarded him in return. The King tasked Gespar with the protection of his son, giving him command over the knights dedicated to the safety of the throne's heir. With that duty weighing heavily upon him, Gespar passed some of it to his son. The understanding that Vergil was to earn his spurs and join his father in the tradition of guarding the King of England was implicit, and Vergil's training took on a new edge as the boy began maturing. The heir's safety was tantamount, and with Gespar's awareness of the treachery of court, he elected to take both the heir and his son back to Hertford. It was there that Vergil continued the training his father had begun, and was given further tutelage in the manners of proper court by the tutors which had accompanied Edward in order to train the heir throughout his childhood. Although the passing of time seems lengthy to the young, it was a busy few years during which Vergil absorbed his father's hard-earned wisdom, listened to the tales of combat both in tourney and on the field from his father's men and began taking his own turns standing guard over young Edward. When Henry VIII called men to battle in 1544, Vergil was twenty one and of age. The planned invasion of France, beginning in Calais, involved forty thousand troops. Henry VIII's strategy involved dividing the men into even groups of twenty thousand, to march to Boulonge under the command of Charles Brandon, the first Duke of Suffolk. Taking Boulonge required that Vergil's personal fighting style be put aside, for a knight must be able to fight alongside his fellows. Although the heavy armor of the English military was restrictive, Vergil endured it willingly, and was one of the first over the walls when the English forces breached them. Despite the bloodshed, it was a triumph, and one in which Vergil emerged lauded for his ability to fight with injury, using his skill with a sword on behalf of his king. It took very little time for the French to push to regain Boulonge, and the departure of Henry VIII was done with only the simple command of 'defend Boulonge.' While the Duke of Suffolk had been joined by the Duke of Norfolk in command of the battalion, they could not agree on their tactics. Both men drew back their forces, leaving four thousand soldiers as a garrison, and attempted peace talks in the safety of Calais. Vergil refused to leave the city his king had commanded be kept, and it proved to be his crucible. Standing alongside his fellow soldiers, he fought to push the French back. With overwhelming numbers, the French were able to gain the streets of Boulonge, but their premature victory celebrations gave the English the opportunity they needed. A pitched battle began when the French turned to looting the city, and relentless assaults began as both groups fought for control of Boulonge. The war reached a stalemate, and in 1545, Vergil was called back to England, greeted with open arms by his parents and, strange as it seemed to him, young Edward. At the age of eight, Edward was in a position to reward Vergil for his service in France and did so by providing him the post of palace guard. He took his turns at watch duty, upholding his vows to guard the king while being able to consider those he had lost in France and how he would best change his approach in order to serve his king. During this time, Vergil continued honing his personal style of combat, balancing his time between duty and reconnecting with his family. When Henry VIII passed away in 1547, Edward ascended the throne and was named king at the tender age of ten. One of his first acts was to knight the man who had spent so much time with him as a boy. Vergil came into his knighthood at the age of twenty-five, rising from his bowed knee as Sir Vergil Irngard, Knight of the Crown. Gespar's tearful thanks were nearly drowned by the rising accolade from Vergil's fellow knights. It was natural for Vergil to take his father's place, guarding Edward as Gespar had once guarded Henry VIII. Throughout the following years, he continued honing his preferred style of combat, drawing on his experience in the field and consulting the retired Gespar for advice when situations arose. His devotion to the king was as unfaltering as his father's had been, and when Edward succumbed to illness in 1553, Vergil was devastated. Although the priests said that it was merely the conquest of the illness that the young king had suffered off and on throughout the years, there were those who spoke of something... else. Discovering Vergil at prayer, a young priest approached him and confided the truth: Edward had not died of illness, but of a poison which had no natural origin. The priest spoke of demons, the walking undead, horrific beings which had set about destroying the power of the throne one courtier at a time. Vergil's rage grew as the priest laid out all that he knew, and even indicated he knew where the suspected assassin spent the days. Over and over again, the priest stressed the need for a daylight attack. It pushed against what Vergil's inclination was- surely a strike under the cover of darkness would be more successful?- but the priest's insistence turned into tearful begging. With a solemn nod, he gathered up the men he trusted with such a mission and they set out. The stronghold they reached shortly after the height of day was one that Vergil had known of, but never investigated nor given a moment's thought. Several of the more learned priests had hailed from this stronghold, men from the Vatican, and for it to be the source of the assassin was confusing. No sooner had they drawn close that they were met with what the priest had warned against- unnatural resistance. Pale men, without armor but armed with finer swords than most of the knights had ever seen, gathered at the entrance. While Vergil acknowledged there was obviously some foolhardy courage there for the guards to gather, he made no attempt to restrain himself as he lunged forward. It was very nearly the last act of his life, for the other knights charged alongside him and Vergil was the first to see one of the pale men lift an armored knight in one hand and rip through his steel breastplate with the other. When the man's still-beating heart was torn from his chest, Vergil let forth a battle cry, urging the other knights on as they began meeting blade to blade. Foolish, perhaps, and as the largest man strode forward, his hand swung out and knocked Vergil away from the fight. It dazed him, gave him the time to see his fellows being torn limb from limb by these pale, utterly calm men. A red battle rage fell upon him then, and when the largest man lumbered forward, sweeping a hand out to tear at Vergil, the silver-eyed knight rolled himself aside. His armor was torn away, but it lightened him, and when he caught up a second blade and crouched, Vergil thought of nothing more than getting through the guards and to the stronghold's interior. The desire to slaughter the assassin was high in him, and even as the smaller 'men' leapt at him, he kept a focused eye on the entrance. A few neat blade sweeps, in a style that the men were not expecting to encounter, and Vergil was able to dismember the two who lunged so wildly at him. With the third lunging for him, Vergil's speed gave him the upper hand, and half-dancing over the scattered corpses, he caught the man's jaw with the edge of a blade, twirling beneath his own arm to give the sword a twist. The final 'guard' did not look down when the head bounced off of his feet, but merely moved forward. Vergil's body was weary, his endurance wringing dry, and he attempted to duck beneath the first swing, only to meet the secondary blow. As his jaw shattered, he groped to keep at least a grip on one blade. Everything turned into a haze of grey, spiked with flashes of wild agony as the man continued beating Vergil into the ground. Cracking ribs splintered into fragments that jutted from his chest, and when blood began to seep from his mouth, the large man looked at the uplifted arm and broke it with a single flex of his massive hands. Beyond sound, Vergil could only struggle to focus his eyes on his assailant. When his gaze met that of the remaining guard, the pale man grunted and brought a foot down viciously on Vergil's blood-stained silver hair. Beyond that... There was only dull hints of what followed: the scent of wet leaves, a faint gurgle of trickling water. Dull impact against his fractured body and the thick, coppery stench of his own blood, flowing across the moss-coated stones. The only blessing was that the sky was visible between the thickly clustered trees, and Vergil was able to watch the pale blue fade into velvety twilight. His life faded with the sunlight, and when the shadow was cast across him, he welcomed the end of pain. Whatever was said, he could not understand, but darkness swiftly followed. ...in more ways than one. Pertinent Connections * Player characters and/or NPCs the character has a strong relationship with. * Romantic relationships will be detailed. Game History Highlights * An outline of important events that have occurred to the character. Category:Bookcase